The team at Solid State Logic, better known as SSL have been very busy of late. First we got the amazing SSL Fusion Colour mixing and mastering processor, now we get a new table top mixer called SiX, that they claim is the ultimate desktop mixer. And from what I see they could well be right.

In this video, supported by Antelope Audio, Pro Tools Expert Technical Editor James Ivey takes a look at some of the latest Antelope Audio gear. James teams up with songwriter and guitarist Paul Sundt and they use the Antelope Orion Studio 2017 to track a song called Crazy Lady. This video is the story of recording this track, and how it was mixed using the new Antelope Audio AFX2DAW plug-in.

One of my resolutions for 2019 was to make more music and thus far it’s all going rather well. One of my new projects is with our very own Paul Drew of Studio One Expert. Paul and I have been working together on a couple of tracks with bass player Dan Hawkins and on a recent session, we had a true 21st Century production epiphany. We discovered a means of working together that is almost as good as being in the same room at the same time. Let me explain.

Seasoned engineers never leave home without their trusty gig bag, but if you’re new to remote recording, it can be hard to know what’s handy to have on the road. As a result, you either end up taking absolutely everything, just in case, or you end up on the job without a key cable of adaptor. In this article I am going to give you a sneak peek into my personal gig bag and explain why these items are so vital to having a successful gig.

I think it’s fair to say we have waited quite a “long time” for the Slate Digital VRS8 Virtual Recording Studio audio interface, the first from Steven and the team. So was it worth the wait? Rather than have just one unit, I have been lucky enough to get my hands on two VRS8 interfaces to use in my studio on a real life session. How did they hold up and most importantly, how do they sound in action?

I’d like to share some advice I offer to clients wanting to book time at my studio in sunny (sometimes sunny) South East London. Some of this stuff may be obvious to experienced artists but, I also work with artists for whom this may be their first time in a recording studio, and so to help them come prepped, I send these 8 points in an email before they come in for their session can often make that session a much easier and less stressful experience for them and for me.

Learn how to recreate a convincing “ambient drum mic” track to compliment your drum mixes in your DAW using Eventide’s brilliant Tverb plug-in. In this free video tutorial we show you how to achieve this mix trick along with a technique which adds punch and energy to this “virtual drum room channel” using Eventide’s Omnipressor dynamics processor.

iZotope has updated Their Spire Studio recording Hardware to include a new Enhance Feature using the latest in smart analysis. The latest update for Spire Studio now offers users the ability to polish your audio before you share it by harnessing the award-winning intelligent DSP that is in iZotope’s plug-ins Ozone 8 and Neutron 2.

Cast your mind back 15 or so years ago, there really wasn’t that much choice available to us when it came to small budget friendly desktop audio interfaces. These days it’s fair to say that we’re spoilt for choice! In this article we’ve combined our reviews of a selection of great value desktop audio interfaces you can buy today for your home studio. If you are in the market for a simple 2 to 4 in/out audio interface then hopefully this list will help you in your search.

In this video, Paul Drew and James Ivey look at the microphones and UAD-2 plug-in choices that Paul made to record the band live in his studio. The aim of this project is to record, mix and master the song using nothing but the new Apollo X range of audio interfaces and UAD-2 plug-ins. This is part 3 of 6 for Production Expert, with the support of Universal Audio, in which Paul and James continue the tracking process for a new song called “Thought Of Love” by Belgian band Rooftop Renegades.

I’m sure like many of you, I was under the impression that “251” style valve condenser microphones were mainly used to record female vocals. John McBride of Blackbird Studios in Nashville is on the record as saying that an original Telefunken 251 is his “go-to” microphone when recording his wife Martina. But how does the new Warm Audio WA-251 stack up as an instrument mic. I invited composer and guitar player Paul Sundt back to the studio to record one of this tracks playing a couple of my acoustic guitars recorded using the WA-251.

In this video, Paul reaches for a selection of guitars to build on the drums and bass parts recorded in the first part of this series. The aim of this project is to record, mix and master the song using nothing but the new Apollo X range of audio interfaces and UAD-2 plug-ins. This is part 2 of 6 for Production Expert, with the support of Universal Audio, in which Paul and James continue the tracking process for a new song called “Thought Of Love” by Belgian band Rooftop Renegades.

In this video, the first of a new six part series for Production Expert, with the support of Universal Audio, Paul Drew and James Ivey begin the tracking process for a new song called “Thought Of Love” by Belgian band Rooftop Renegades. The aim of this project is to record, mix and master the song using nothing but the new Apollo X range of audio interfaces and UAD-2 plug-ins. In this first video, James takes to the drums to lay down a solid foundation for the track and Paul adds some real bass to lock in with the kick drum.

Choosing acoustic treatment is very difficult as it’s not possible to demo or test a full solution in your studio before buying a number of panels and installing it. For those currently looking at investing in acoustic treatment we’ve put together a list of top brands that provide great sounding low cost off the shelf acoustic panels and treatment solutions to help you improve the performance of your studio space.

Did you ever hear the story about the recording engineer who had time to try out several different microphones to hear which they likes the best? Yes I know, it’s a fairy story. In these days of modern budgets and time constraints we tend to go with what we know works. There is very rarely time to experiment and try out new gear and new ideas. However, when you have a string quartet on hand to help you out from time to time, one does get the opportunity to “have a play” and see what works.

In this article we show you a number of methods for recording a vocal/acoustic guitar performance along with some benefits and pitfalls of each that you can experiment with the next time you find yourself with the responsibility of recording a one-take performance of an acoustic guitar and vocal arrangement.

Little did I know when I started this series of articles it would strike up quite so much discussion. Thanks to everyone who took part and then added their comments. They have made very interesting reading. So here is the final part of the series, the results, with a final added bonus twist.

There is nothing that stirs my musical emotions more than listening to a large group of performers in the same room at the same time. It is quite something to feel the amount of air moved by a symphony orchestra or an 18 piece bing band. But not all of us have access to the spaces, gear and players required to record an ensemble of this size. However, you can “fake” it. In this article I’m going to show you how and let you listen to the results so far.

This is the fifth part of our tourney into what has become the Great Audio Summing Debate. Well done! You made it. It would not have been the same without you. This time we are again listening to an audio example summed through 16 channels of my Audient ASP8024HE console, but this time we are kicking in the magic bullets that are “Retro Iron”, “Low Bump” and “High Lift” to hear if some of the key features of the new Heritage Edition version of the Audient ASP8024 console really do improve things when it comes to the final mix.